The Thing About Distance

The thing about distance...forced or self-imposed
Is that there are things that you miss
Some little...some big...but most just pass by without notice
Until suddenly it hits you...that...you've missed it all

Births...all the children that will only know you as a name..and visa-versa...if at all
Christenings and such...no wetting the baby's head amongst family and friends
Weddings...the children that you never met grow and change without you
Without your notice ...and...without you entirely
Deaths....never a chance to reconcile, recollect, resolve...or reminisce

You also miss things like tacos, chille dogs, and root beer
Drive-in movies, skinny dipping, and protesting the war
Country roads and fishing holes
But these don't matter....much

Distance isn't so much about who or what you are missing...
Not the tastes, the sounds, the sensations...

The thing about distance
Is
The
Silence

It's an empty glass